1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to canisters for the storage and dispensing of liquids and particulate solids, and more particularly concerns canisters of the type that are capable of dispensing stored liquid or particulate solid in a measured amount that can be selected by the user.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are presently available a number of canisters that can be used to store liquids or particulate solids and, in addition, are capable of dispensing a portion of the liquid or particulate solid. The array of such devices includes canisters where the user can select a volume, up to a specified maximum volume, of a particulate solid to be dispensed through a closure flap disposed approximate to the bottom of the canister, such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,819,000. Further, there are presently available canisters where a single, predetermined volume of a particulate solid can be dispensed, such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,637,529, and, in addition, canisters where the user can select one of a number of predetermined volumes of a particulate solid to be dispensed, such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,782,984.
Despite the availability of such canisters, there exists a need in the art for a measuring dispensing canister that is capable of conveniently storing any of a wide variety of liquids or particulate solids, that is capable of dispensing a measured portion of the liquid or particulate solid in a controlled manner, with the volume of material to be dispensed selected by the user to be any volume up to a maximum volume.